


Of All the Awkward Things, This Takes the Cake

by DeRez



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Boston Bruins, Eventual Sex, Hockey, M/M, Rating: M, Stanley Cup Playoffs, stupid drama
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-24
Updated: 2013-06-10
Packaged: 2017-12-12 19:54:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/815408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeRez/pseuds/DeRez
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This story takes place after Tyler Seguin's and Brad Marchand's media scrum in Toronto together, and follows them throughout the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Eventual Brad Marchand/Tyler Seguin. Includes mentions of a lot of the other Bruins players, obviously. And mentions of Toews/Kane.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Top of the List

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I’m completely new to Hockey fanfiction, though I’ve grown up watching the sport. I’ve just never written a fanfiction based on real people, so I’m hoping I didn’t butcher anyone on the Bruins team, of which I am an avid fan. 
> 
> So this story just kind of happened. It was inspired by the hilarious interview when Tyler said he and Brad had done way more awkward things than that media scrum. And it kind of evolved into a fic. It was only supposed to be a short, silly little thing… and then it morphed into this (as you can see, because the beginning is way choppy, and then the bits get longer... XD) Oh and I do not live in Boston, so please excuse my nonexistent knowledge of the city. I’m trying. XD
> 
> I hope you like it! And please, I love critique-I definitely want to improve. So leave a comment, etc. :3 Also unbeta'd, so feel free to point out errors!
> 
> Mainly Brad's perspective here. But next will mostly be Tyler's.

“Did you really have to say that?” Brad asked as they got into the elevator of their hotel to return to their rooms for a pre-game nap. Of course, Tyler’s statement had been true… but no doubt people would misconstrue it or something. 

“I really wasn’t thinking. I mean, it’s true, though. That media scrum wasn’t as awkward as some other things we’ve done together. You do remember Foxwoods, right?” Tyler replied, giving his linemate a look.

Brad looked dubious, “Dude, I don’t even think you remember Foxwoods. All we have are pictures to go by,” he retorted, rolling his eyes. “It really doesn’t matter, except now people will be curious,” he chuckled. The elevator finally got to their floor and they each headed their separate ways to their rooms. 

-

They lost. It wasn’t a shutout, thank god. But they’d lost game six in Toronto. And now their plane was malfunctioning and it was late and they were all so tired and hungry. Luckily, some restaurant stayed open and gave them a break despite their team being the losers. The whole team was solemn, watching the Red Wings and Ducks while eating quietly. There wasn’t much conversation to go around, though some did talk about making improvements. 

It was around one AM when they called it a night and got back on the bus to go to the hotel that they’d made an emergency call to. They’d given the servers four tickets to game seven, and luckily one of them was a Bruins fan. 

When they got to the hotel, they found out there weren’t enough rooms to go around, so some of them would have to double up. Oh well, it wasn’t like things could get much worse. So they split up and took the keys and tiredly went up to their rooms.

Brad and Tyler easily decided to room together. They were best friends, after all. But when they got to the room, there was only one bed and they wondered if the others had the same issue.

But then Brad looked at Tyler and Tyler looked at Brad. Suddenly, both of them began to laugh. “Just add this to the list of awkward things we’ve done, eh?” Brad said between his bouts of laughter. 

Tyler was the first to calm down enough, “Oh whatever, I don’t even care anymore. I just want to sleep,” he said, kicking off his shoes and pulling off his shirt. He had dropped his bag where it was and fished out his sweatpants. Unzipping his jeans, he pulled them off and got into the pants. It wasn’t unusual- they all got changed in the same locker room after all. 

Brad had done the same, though he had shorts and had pulled on a shirt. He plugged his phone in to charge and set the alarm clock on the night stand to wake them up at seven. Their plane would leave- hopefully- at nine. He collapsed onto the bed and sighed in bliss. Beside him, he could feel Tyler doing the same. “G’night,” Brad mumbled, pulling the covers over himself. As soon as he got comfortable, he was practically asleep.

-

The morning was also something to add to the list of awkward things they’ve done together. Because when the alarm went off and woke both of the sleeping hockey players, they realized how close they were. And Tyler had morning wood, which Brad could feel against his leg because one of Tyler’s legs was thrown across his own. 

So Tyler let out an un-Tyler-like noise and jerked away, sputtering something along the lines of “Sorry, wow, that’s weird!” and Brad just sort of laughed, too tired to do much else. “Glad I have that effect on you, Segs,” he joked, watching Tyler roll off the bed to claim the bathroom first. He didn’t put up a fight for it, knowing Tyler had a problem to take care of.

“You would be glad,” Tyler retorted before closing the door behind him. Not five minutes later, the shower could be heard turning on.

-

They were headed to round two. Tyler couldn’t believe it. They’d been down and out; even he had believed they had no chance. Then Horty scored and Looch pumped them up. And they came back and tied it. And then Bergy scored in overtime. The locker room was oddly quiet after that game, as they all could barely believe it. 

“We are fucking awesome,” Tyler announced as he exited the shower. Their interviews were done, all they had left was to celebrate a job well done since Coach had announced no practice tomorrow. 

Now, Tyler knew it would probably be best if he just went home and got some sleep- he was exhausted from the long day… flying in this morning and then getting ready for the game. And such an intense emotional and physical game it was… But, he had way too much adrenaline pumping through his veins to just go home. And he could tell from the way Marchy was practically bouncing that he had the same issue. 

“Bar?” Brad asked, reading Tyler’s mind. 

“Fuck yes,” Tyler grinned. He announced it to the rest of the room, and they were not alone in their eagerness to celebrate. 

-

Usually Foxwoods wasn’t the top choice on their list of places to go to, being outside their immediate vacinity, but when they had a large group, it was typically the one they chose. So Brad, Tyler, and most of the team- Quaider, Soupy, Looch, Dougie, Bart, Horty, Bergy, Krejci, Z, and the list goes on...And Z because he always looked after his cubs- arrived there around midnight. 

After the eighth shot, Tyler was already gone; because despite the belief of many, he did not hold his liquor well. Beer, sure… but liquor… it didn’t take much. Brad wasn’t far behind, either. Luckily, Big Z and Dougie were doing a good job keeping most of them in line. 

Until a really great song came on and a girl danced up to him. Tyler wasn’t one to turn down such an opportunity, so he gave one of his winning smiles and pulled her closer, grinding in beat with the music. It’d been awhile since he’d had the opportunity to do this. 

The girl giggled, “You should invite your friend over, too,” she was obviously tipsy. But Tyler shrugged and waved Brad over. 

“Marchy~” he called, “She said you should join in. Wha’d’ya think?” Tyler asked, slurring some words together, but otherwise pretty coherent. 

Brad tossed back the rest of his drink and moved over, taking up position behind the girl as the three moved together. This, however, was already on their list of awkward things they’ve done together- after winning the Stanley Cup. 

It didn’t last too long, however, because Big Z decided that he was going to cut them off and order the both of them home because they’d ‘had enough.’ And he didn’t want any media humiliation for either of them. Tyler was the only one to protest, because hell, he hadn’t been laid in… in a very long time. Since before the season started and holy hell that was unusual. 

So, with the help of Dougie, Z got them both into a cab (without the girl)- and really, they needed to corrupt the Ginger. He was becoming a little- well, he wasn’t little- Chara. 

Brad gave the cabbie his address, and Tyler was about to give his as well, but for some reason, he just couldn’t remember. Fuck, maybe he’d had more than eight shots? “I’mma crash with you, Marchy,” he said simply, and the cab pulled away. 

Brad was obviously okay with it, because he didn’t object. 

By the time they got to Brad’s place, Tyler was snoozing. So his line mate had to wake him up, and they both stumbled into the complex and into the elevator. “Damn it, Brad,” Tyler groaned, “Why did Z have to stop us… I haven’t been laid in forever,” he complained. 

“I don’t know,” Brad replied, seeming to be a bit less wasted than Tyler- though still completely drunk, mind you. “’Cause he’s Captain Z?” He shrugged, fiddling with his keys once they got to his floor. He had to focus real hard on the lock to align the key and lock properly. “How long is forever?” he decided to ask as he fiddled with the damn key. 

Tyler huffed, leaning on Brad for support as he tried to unlock his own door. “Spoil sport,” he mumbled, and then shrugged slightly, “I dunno, I think before the season…” He trailed off, then nodded in confirmation. “Yeah, and that’s just weird, Marchy,” he grumbled. 

Brad finally got the key into the lock, and he turned it, opening his door and sliding his hand on the wall for the light. He finally clicked it on and walked in, Tyler stumbling in behind him. “That is weird for you,” Brad commented, and let out a yawn, “I dunno what you want me to do about it, though… M’not a girl, so I can’t help you there,” he said, kicking off his shoes. 

Tyler followed suit, kicking off his shoes as well. He didn’t have any change of clothes, but he was sure Marchy had something. He hated sleeping in jeans. “Really? Shame, thought I was gonna get laid,” Tyler replied, able to be sarcastic even when drunk. He gave a small pout, though, as if to emphasize and go with it. 

At that moment, something changed. Brad gave Tyler a weird look, and then without even meaning to, he was moving forward and crushing his lips against Tyler’s, body pinning his against the door. 

Tyler, in his drunken stupor, was shocked only for a few seconds before his brain stopped working and instead began to think with his dick. Because he really wanted to get laid, and the fact that this was Marchy didn’t seem to matter to him. So he pressed back, using his height to his advantage and reversing their positions, so Marchy was the one with his back against the door. 

And at this point, all rational thought went out the window. In the morning, this would most definitely be top of the list for the two forwards. But right now? They were both too drunk not to think with their dicks.

-

The morning after was definitely the most awkward morning of their lives, no doubt. Brad was the first to wake up, and he felt amazing, despite the headache from the hangover. But when bits and pieces came back to him, he realized the one cuddled up to his side wasn’t a girl at all, and that it was, in fact, his line mate. 

So he did what any normal person would do, and freaked out enough to land himself on the floor, one foot tangled in the blanket. 

The noise and movement woke Tyler, who gave him a quizzical look over the side of the bed. Brad could practically see the gears beginning to turn as realization dawned, could practically see the light bulb light up in his head. “Shit, did we have sex?” Was the first thing out of his mouth. 

Brad simply stared up at him, a look of incredulity on his face. “That’s… You’re not freaking out,” Brad said slowly, trying to figure out why he wasn’t freaking out as much as himself. 

“Give it a minute, I don’t think it’s fully sunk in yet, I have a massive hangover right now,” Tyler replied. Not even a minute later, he groaned, “Yeah, fuck, this is awkward. I must have been really desperate,” he buried his head in the pillow. “My fucking ass hurts,” he complained. 

Brad couldn’t help but frown, “Oh, gee, glad to know it was desperation that sent you my way,” he grumbled, too low for Tyler to hear. He didn’t mean anything by it, except that it was somewhat insulting to know that someone slept with him out of simple desperation and not because he was, well, him... Even though it was Tyler. “Sorry?” Brad said louder, unsure if that was the right thing to say in this situation. It wasn’t entirely his fault, Tyler had been pretty eager if he remembered correctly.

Tyler cursed, “I think we should both agree, that many shots of Jack is a bad thing from now on, yeah?” 

Brad nodded, “Yeah, yeah definitely,” he replied, noticing that his boxers were next to him on the floor. He grabbed them and detangled himself from the blanket. He slipped his boxers back on and let out a small sigh. “Let’s also agree that you should probably get laid more often,” he added.

Tyler nodded into the pillow. “That’s a smart idea, too.”

Well, since it didn’t seem like they were going to get much further with this, Brad padded over to his bathroom and closed the door behind him. Fuck, what was he even supposed to think right now? He’d just had sex with his twenty-one year old line mate and best friend; scratch that- straight twenty-one year old line mate and best friend. 

Maybe swearing off any and all whiskey was a better idea. Yeah; if whiskey made him do crazy shit like have sex with his best friend, perhaps it would be best to swear it off from now on. He shook his head, turning on the shower so he could wash away the remnants of their night together. 

-

The thing is: Brad is falling apart. Not on the ice, of course- no, never on the ice. He needed to elevate his game, and that’s just what he did. No, he was falling apart off the ice, could no longer look Tyler in the eye. And no, it wasn’t because they had sex and it was awkward as fuck now- that was definitely a part, but not the whole reason. It was because he looked at Tyler and flashes came back to him of that night and it gave him a strange feeling in his gut- one he wasn’t supposed to have. Not if he was straight like he always thought he’d been. 

It was noticeable in the locker room, too. They were stall-mates after all. Not only were they not playing together on the ice, but they weren’t even talking off it. The team definitely noticed. 

But Brad had no idea what to do. He couldn’t make himself forget what they’d done, especially since just looking at Tyler brought it back into his mind. Hell, did that make him interested? Because it was Tyler Seguin, and that was just… no, he couldn’t be interested in him. He was straight, Tyler was straight, and they’d just been really drunk. Brad just had to move on and get laid by some hot blonde or something. Yeah. 

“What’s up with you and Segs?” Soupy asked when they were done with morning skate the Wednesday after their drunken night together. “You guys don’t seem like, well, normal recently…” He trailed off, unsure how to word it.

Brad remained silent, and Soupy gave him a weird look. One that implied he wanted him to do something about this whole mess. But Soupy had no idea why that would be a damn bad idea. “What?” He asked, unable to bare the look much longer. 

“What’s going on between you and Segs? You guys are never this quiet around each other, and it’s like… Did you two have a fight or something?” He asked once more, raising a brow curiously. 

Brad sighed- why him? “Nothing… I don’t really know, I guess Segs is just upset about not scoring at all,” he tried, if only to get Soupy off his back. 

Soupy seemed to buy it- or at least let it go. He nodded, though still gave him a weird look, “You should talk to him. Seems like that hasn’t happened recently,” he said simply. 

Brad groaned as Soupy walked away. If only it were so easy. 

-

They won the game against the Rangers, in OT. And he’d gotten the OT goal. The monkey was off his back and he felt fucking fantastic! The buzz in the locker room after the media scrum didn’t die down. Even Tyler didn’t seem as down as he had been the past few days. 

“We’re going out!” Brad announced, a huge grin on his face. “I’ll pay.” He emphasized, and immediately there were more teammates interested. Because really, Brad never offered to pay. 

It wasn’t long before half the team was once at a bar downtown. Big Z was busy making sure that nobody got as shitfaced as he and Tyler had last time. Coach had said no practice tomorrow, but, that didn’t mean get shitfaced. Besides, it wasn’t a series win; it was just a game one win. So it was understandable. 

Brad was enjoying himself, sitting at the bar with a pretty young brunette next to him to talk to. He was enjoying the conversation, and was pretty sure she would be interested in returning to his place later, too. So that was a bonus. He did, after all, just score the game winning goal. God it felt great to get that off his back. Now if only his best friend could get rid of the bad luck and score as well… 

Speaking of which. While the chick was ordering another drink, he let himself look around to find Tyler. Brad was getting a little worried until he spotted him- his tongue shoved down some scantily-clad girls’ throat in the corner. They were awfully close, and he was pretty sure they were grinding. 

And just like that, Brad’s good vibe evaporated. It was replaced by a swelling surge of jealousy and pain- which, whoa, why!? He tore his eyes away from the pair, heart rate picking up. Why did he feel like that? Fuck, why the hell did he feel jealous? That wasn’t right! He wasn’t supposed to be hurt by the sight of his best friend getting action, he wasn’t supposed to be angry at Tyler, and he sure as hell wasn’t supposed to be jealous of the fucking girl! 

He didn’t realize his girl for the night was trying to talk to him until she said his name loudly, and he snapped his attention back to her. “Sorry, uh, I’ve gotta get out of here. Not feeling too well,” he said lamely, putting his glass of beer down on the bar. He stood up and the girl looked pretty let down, but it didn’t affect him. He made his way towards the entrance quickly, and once he was outside in the fresh, crisp air he let out a sigh. 

What the fuck was he supposed to do? Like, what the hell do you do if you accidentally had drunken sex with a teammate and suddenly you’re questioning your sexuality? The worst part was that Tyler was obviously completely straight, his best friend, and the object of his sudden, apparent bisexual feelings. What the actual fuck was he supposed to do?

“You alright?” It was Soupy. “You just left your own party… I hope you’re not bailing on paying the tab,” he jested.

Brad looked up, running a hand over his head- used to doing that when he had hair. “Uh, fine, no I’m not bailing. Needed some air,” he replied, though by the look Soupy gave him, he obviously knew something was up. 

“Alright, I’m not buying this “I’m fine” bullshit, Marchy,” he rolled his eyes. “You were talking to a gorgeous girl and you just left her; pretty sure that’s not you,” he raised a brow. 

Great, what the hell was he supposed to say? ‘Tyler and I had sex when we were wasted and now I’m questioning my sexuality because he turns me on when I look at him’ wasn’t exactly something he should say, and he was pretty sure Soupy wouldn’t want to hear that. And the more he hesitated, the more ‘not fine’ Soupy would think he was. Fuck. “I, uh… Fuck, you really don’t want to know, Soupy. I just…” Brad closed his mouth, almost saying too much. 

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? Come on, Brad,” Soupy sighed, putting a hand on his shoulder, “Whatever it is, you can talk to me; it’s not like I’m going to laugh at you or something.” 

Brad knew he was serious when he used his first name. “No, you’ll probably laugh and want nothing to do with me,” he blurt out, and then let out a curse, kicking himself mentally for saying that. Now Soupy wouldn’t leave him alone. 

Campbell raised his eyebrows, “Why do you say that?” He asked. 

Brad leaned against the wall behind him, letting his head hit the brick as he looked up. Should he tell him? Soupy was trustworthy- he wouldn’t tell anyone else. Brad knew that. But did he want anybody to know? Hell, he didn’t even know what was going on himself. It may just be a phase.

But having someone know and to talk to would be a lot better than keeping it in and possibly ruining his game. 

“Fuck, you really want to know?” Brad asked, looking at his older teammate with a very un-Brad-like serious look. 

Campbell nodded, “Yeah, I think I can take whatever you tell me.”

Brad took a deep breath, “I warned you,” he said, first- just to put it out there. Where to start? Should he really tell him everything? Or just edit the story a bit so it wouldn’t be so… wrong? Fuck it; might as well go with the truth if he was going to say anything at all. “Alright, well… Remember when we went out Monday night after that win? Tyler and I got really fucking wasted. He crashed at my place. Uh,” he paused here, cursing himself. This was awkward, why was he voluntarily telling Soupy this? He wasn’t drunk enough for this. 

“Well?” Soupy urged him to continue. 

“Well, we sort of… Shit, Tyler kept complaining about not getting laid in, like, months. We were wasted, alright… I have no idea what brought it on but, I don’t remember that part…” Brad was stalling and he knew it. He needed to just say it. “We had sex.” He blurted, then immediately glanced around to make sure it was just them. It was. He dared a look at Soupy to see his expression. 

And well, shit. At least he didn’t look disgusted. He just looked shocked, as if he didn’t truly believe him. 

“And uh, ever since then it’s kind of been awkward. We’ve avoided talking about it… But in there, just now…” Brad trailed off and shook his head, then crossed his arms. This was the worst part to admit… He hadn’t even fully admitted it to himself yet. “I glanced around and saw Tyler making out with some chick and I fucking… I was jealous… Of the chick. And angry, I have no idea… I know it’s fucking weird, and disgusting but you asked for it!” And now he was panicking slightly. Fuck. 

“Wow.” Campbell stated, letting out a low whistle. “You two never cease to surprise me, that’s for sure…” He said. “So let me get this straight… You two had sex when you were drunk… haven’t talked about it… and now you’re realizing that you’re into Segs?” 

Brad stared at him, a little taken aback that he was taking this so well. Hell, he sure as hell wasn’t. “Yeah… Yeah I guess that’s, I guess you could say that,” he nodded, letting out a slow breath to calm himself. “What the fuck do I do?”

Gregory shrugged a bit, “I don’t know… That’s a pretty fucked up situation you’ve landed yourself in, Marchy… Even for you,” he chuckled, to try and ease Brad’s freak out. “You should probably talk to him, though. I mean, he’s you’re best friend. I don’t think he’ll disown you for being into him. Hell, he might actually like it, Segs is weird,” Soupy said.

Brad shook his head. “Yeah, leave it to me…” he mumbled, then gave Soupy a look as if he were an alien. “Talk to him… Are you kidding me? What would I say? ‘Oh by the way, Segs, I get a boner every time I fucking look at you. But we’re still best buds, right?’ That would never work,” he scowled, “He’s not weird enough to like this.”

“Well, no, that’s not what I meant…” Campbell frowned, “I don’t know, Marchy. There’s no easy solution. But you shouldn’t avoid him- he can tell and we can’t exactly afford to have Tyler distracted by his best friend avoiding him when we’re trying to get him to score some goals,” he explained. 

“I know, I know… I’ll try not to avoid him, alright? It’s just awkward as fuck when you realize you might actually have a thing for your teammate…” Brad frowned. 

“I don’t doubt it… I won’t tell anyone, either. And if you need to talk about it again, I’ll listen,” Campbell said, giving Brad a friendly elbow. “Now let’s go back inside, eh? You are paying, after all,” he reminded the other.

Brad groaned. 

-

They’d just finished practice and game two was tomorrow afternoon. After talking with the media, Brad decided it was do or die. He needed to talk to Tyler- not necessarily about his newfound hard on for his best friend, but more so about the avoiding aspect of the situation. “Hey, Segs, want to grab lunch after this?” He asked once the reporters had all left. 

Tyler looked at him in mild surprise. “Oh, so you are still talking to me,” he said with a bit of a bite in his tone. 

Brad looked a little surprised. He didn’t think Tyler had been so angry about it… But what do you say to something like that? “Sorry,” Brad voiced, unsure if that was the right course or not. “I’m an idiot, you know that,” he tried to joke, knowing that usually worked with Tyler. “Just… wasn’t sure…” He trailed off, wondering if Tyler understood what he was implying. He didn’t exactly want to talk about it in the locker room where any of their teammates were in earshot. He could already feel Soupy’s eyes on him. 

Tyler seemed to think about it- if he wanted to accept the apology or not and go back to normal. In the end, he let out a sigh, “Yeah, let’s go grab some lunch,” he relented, much to the relief of Brad. “Guess we should talk, anyway,” he said more quietly. 

“Alright,” Brad nodded in response, and he went back to clearing up his stall and putting his equipment away properly. This was a start to getting back to normal; he could accept that, even though he supposed things would never really go back to normal for him.

-

They wound up going to this little café Tyler usually frequented where they could get a killer panini or sub. They seated themselves in one of the booths with their lunch, and only after Tyler took a few bites of his sub did he look ready to talk. 

So Brad decided to just go for it. “So… About, er, Monday night… I guess-“

“It never happened?” Tyler supplied, “I mean, I think it’s best if we just forget about it. We were both incredibly drunk, and it’s not like it’ll ever happen again, so,” Tyler shrugged, as if it wasn’t a big deal. “Like, I don’t even… I’d be more likely to get with Brownie, if I was somehow even into guys,” he blurted, “And we both know that’s not true,” Tyler added quickly. 

Well, then. Brad wasn’t sure how to classify how he currently felt. He was staring at the panini that seconds ago looked delicious, and found he didn’t even want it. What Tyler said about it never happening… yeah, he could deal with that. His best friend was straight, and he obviously just wanted to forget it ever happened. But… He practically just admitted that Brown was better than him. And that’s what hurt the most. That even if he was into it, he would never consider being with him. “That’s not how it seemed that night,” Brad found himself saying, and he was surprised that came out. He hadn’t meant to say that- even though he was both angry and hurt at what his friend had said. So instead, Brad forced a laugh, to play it off as a joke. 

Tyler scowled, “Marchy, come on… That was a low blow,” he said, though his tone was light, so he had believed Brad’s false humor. 

Not as low as what you just said, Brad thought, though he made sure to keep his mouth shut. He needed to get out of here, though. “Hey, I just remembered that I was supposed to skype my sister, she’ll kill me if I completely forget, you know her,” he said, wrapping the panini back up and standing. “Sorry, bud,” he said, forcing himself to sound completely normal. 

“It’s cool, have fun,” Tyler grinned, “We are good, though, right?” He asked, a bit of hesitance in his voice. 

Brad paused, and then he nodded, “Yeah, of course; how could we not be?” he voiced, and then quickly moved towards the exit with a wave. “See you,” he called, then exited and headed towards his car. 

It was only when Brad got home that he allowed himself to just collapse onto the couch. Fuck. That had not gone as well as he would have liked. It wasn’t Tyler’s fault, he had no idea that the friend he accidentally had sex with discovered he liked it. 

But shit, Brownie? What the hell did Tyler see in the kid anyway? Brad was pretty sure he was a better hockey player than the other Tyler… Brad knew Segs just as well as he did. He knew what he liked and disliked, knew his sense of humor… Fuck, no use thinking about it. Tyler wasn’t bisexual, wasn’t interested- and even if he was- he’d go after guys like Brownie, not him. So there was no use even dwelling on this. 

Maybe all Brad needed was to somehow find someone else. Maybe explore… this new preference of his. 

Before he knew what he was doing, he was dialing Soupy. But before he could decide to hang out, Soupy answered. “Hello?” 

Brad sucked in a breath, unsure of why he called. Sure, Soupy said he could talk to him about it whenever- but… 

“Brad? What’s wrong?” Campbell asked.

“Who said something was wrong..?” Brad said, and then promptly slapped his hand to his forehead. He was such an idiot- he shouldn’t have called!

There was sigh on the other side of the phone, “Marchy, just tell me how your lunch with Segs went. You obviously wouldn’t call me about anything else.”

Brad bit his lip, “Yeah, sorry. I feel bad, unloading all of this on you, that’s all,” he said.

“I did ask for it, it’s my own fault,” Soupy laughed. 

Brad had to grin, because it was true. But it faded quickly, “Segs… wants to go on like it never happened. But you know him, he talks before he thinks… He said that if he somehow was into guys, he’d be more interested in Brownie. Which, now that I think about it… it doesn’t make sense. If he was completely straight, why would he even say that? Just leave it at he wasn’t into guys, so it would be best to just forget about it, y’know?” Brad ranted, a small epiphany coming to him in the middle. 

Soupy was quiet on the other end, obviously considering what Brad just told him. “That does seem weird,“ he began, slowly, “I don’t know what to think. Segs never makes sense, and this proves it. I kind of agree with you, though. If he wasn’t into it, why would he even bring that up? Weird…”

“You’re telling me. Shit, what’s so good about Brownie, anyway? I’m definitely a better hockey player, that’s for sure. Maybe it’s the height… Just, does that mean he thinks of Brownie as a better friend than me, even?” Brad asked; because really, he couldn’t trust his own thoughts right now. He needed Soupy’s opinion.

He could hear Gregory let out a laugh on the other end, “Marchy, you’ve fallen pretty hard. This is weird… Just the other night you were in denial about even being into him… and now you sound like a teenage girl,” he teased. 

“Fuck you,” Brad growled, sitting up and turning on the TV. “I just got told to my face that even if Segs was gay, he’d never even consider me an option,” he muttered. 

That sobered Soupy up real quick. Rejection was never easy, especially not in a weird-ass, fucked up situation like this one. “Alright, this is me going out on a limb here, since I wasn’t there and all. But I don’t think any straight guy would say something like ‘but if I was into guys, I’d be more into him’ etcetera. So at this point, I’m definitely questioning Segs’ sexuality,” Campbell explained. “And if that’s the case, well, either he meant what he said or he’s into you and was just trying to gage your reaction to bringing Brownie into it. Because I’m pretty sure everyone in the locker room knows you’ve never liked the guy.”

Brad was silent as he considered Campbell’s words. 

“Brad, just don’t dwell on this crap, alright? Stuff like this has a way of working itself out, you know?” Soupy voiced. 

“Yeah,” Brad replied, and then let out a sigh. “Well, whatever. Don’t wanna be a teenage girl, so I’m going to stop worrying about it,” he joked, and he could hear Soupy laugh. “Thanks, Soupy, I really do appreciate it,” he said sincerely. 

“No problem, Marchy. Just remind me to bring popcorn whenever I’m with you two, because I have a feeling this shit is going to get interesting,” Campbell joked. 

“Fuck you, enjoy the rest of the day, asshole,” Brad retorted, and then hung up.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And here is Tyler's perspective on things. :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you find any errors or think anything should be fixed, let me know! :)

Tyler Seguin was not known to be a genius, and that much was certain. This whole mess started because he’d been an idiot and gotten shitfaced, and then was stupid enough to go home with Brad- especially that last part because _hell_ , why would you go home with your best friend who you may or may not be into, especially when you know you’re horny as fuck! And how did it end? With him having sex with said friend. Talk about awkward, Brad definitely didn’t have any bisexual curiosity, so any hope of continuing that little piece of heaven was out of the picture. 

And then he had the chance to fix things today, at lunch. He should have just said that they should forget about it, and left it at that! But no, Tyler had to open his mouth and blurt out that he’d go for Brownie if he was into guys- which, no. Brownie was an awesome friend who he had a lot in common with- but he was definitely not into him. They were too similar. Hell, they even had the same name- that was kind of awkward. What Tyler didn’t get is why he’d said it. He hadn’t meant to say something so stupid, especially since it was pretty well known that Marchy didn’t exactly like Brownie. 

And now Brad likely thought he was gay and was probably disgusted that they were stall mates in the locker room. Not to mention he probably thought Tyler was choosing Brownie over him friend-wise.

So, not only did he NOT fix their friendship, but he managed to screw it up even more- most likely, at least. Especially if the way Brad made up some random excuse to leave was any indication. 

“Marshall, is dad an idiot?” He asked his dog, looking down at the Labrador from where he sat.

Marshall looked up at him with a look that pleaded to be pet. So Tyler obliged, leaning over and scratching behind Marshall’s ear. “Yeah, dad’s an idiot…” He trailed off with a sigh. 

And to top things off, Tyler had yet to score a goal in the playoffs and he was separated from Marchy and Bergy’s line. Which, yes- he wanted the best for the team. But really, he played better overall when he was with his line mates. And seeing Bergy and Marchy take off, he wanted so badly to be with them. But admittedly, Jags matched up well with them as well. 

He needed to get out of this slump. And he needed to fix things with Brad for real this time. He didn’t need his best friend to be disgusted with him. He didn’t need his best friend thinking he liked Brownie more- because that wasn’t true. Brad was different to him- though he obviously wouldn’t say anything like that.

Tyler jumped a bit when his phone began to ring. He hadn’t expected that at all. He got up and went to get his phone which was lying on the counter. It was Fers. “What’s up, Fers?” he answered. 

“Hey Segs,” Andrew Ference began, “Me, Soupy, Pie and a few of the others are getting together to kick the ball around. Want to join in?” He asked. It wasn’t unusual to get together and kick the soccer ball around a bit- it definitely helped with their footwork, after all. 

Tyler glanced over at Marshall and grinned- it wouldn’t hurt to get out with his pup, not to mention get his mind off things. “Is Marchy going?” He asked.

“Nah, Soupy said he had things to do so I didn’t bother inviting him,” he replied. 

“Oh, alright,” Tyler said, and he was curious why Soupy new what Brad was up to. “Park? I’m going to bring Marshall, too,” he walked over towards the door and grabbed the leash. 

“Yeah, sounds awesome. See you there in a bit,” Ference said, and then hung up. 

Tyler shoved the phone into his pocket and called Marshall over. He hooked the leash onto his collar and grabbed his keys. He was still in workout clothes from practice, so he didn’t bother changing. It wouldn’t take long to get to the park, though he’d probably beat the guys there since he was closest. 

-

Turns out that it was Ference, Soupy, Pie, Krejci, Bart, Quaider and Krug at the park. Tyler was the first to get there, and he played a bit of fetch with Marshall while he waited for the rest of the guys to show up. Eventually, they got to kicking the ball around, playing their usual ‘Keep the ball up’ game. 

Tyler prided himself on being one of the better guys at this game. 

Marshall, on occasion, tried to get at the ball much to the amusement of the rest of them. The game eventually devolved into ‘Marshall in the middle.’ 

They eventually played a game of four-on-four soccer, as well. Only when the sun began to dip did they call it quits. 

“Dinner and maybe a beer?” Andrew asked everyone, rolling his shoulders as he took a sip of his water. 

“I’m down,” Tyler said, enjoying the time with his teammates after having a pretty horrible morning. 

“I’ll go, too,” Soupy shrugged, and then glanced at the rest. 

Quaider, Pie, and Krejci declined, but the two rookies eagerly accepted the invite. So they all decided to meet at Giacomo’s, where they could get some Italian, and some carbs for tomorrow’s game. 

By the time they met up at Giacomo’s, the sun was setting. It was pretty empty for a Saturday evening, so they got a table with ease. And luckily, they weren’t really bothered- even though their waiter obviously recognized them. So they ordered their food and just talked and had an overall good time. 

It wasn’t until Soupy brought up Brad that Tyler felt his good mood shift a bit. And worse, even, was his comment directed at him. 

“So, did you and Marchy fix whatever was going on?” He asked, raising both of his eyebrows. 

Ference nodded in agreement, “You two definitely haven’t been acting like yourselves, that’s for sure,” he added. 

Tyler felt put on the spot. And why did he feel like Soupy knew something? The way he was looking at him… he got a weird feeling that he knew something. But how could he, right..? “Uh, yeah. We had lunch earlier. We just had a fight, and refused to talk about it until today. So.” He felt awkward all of a sudden, though he knew his teammates meant well. 

“Aw, their first fight, how cute,” Fers teased, and Tyler reached for his beer to take a swig. Maybe coming out to dinner with them was a bad idea. He could feel the rookies’ curious looks, too!

Soupy, however, didn’t look convinced. “Well, that doesn’t answer my question,” he pushed, “Talking doesn’t mean fixing,” he advised. 

Tyler gulped, wondering how he could answer this. Soupy definitely knew something- why else would he be so persistent? He was grateful when the waiter brought their food out, and took that as an excuse not to answer right away. He took a few bites of his food as he considered what to say. Finally, he simply said, “Sort of. I’m not really sure. Marchy left pretty quickly,” he said.

Soupy seemed to let it go for now, accepting that.

“Well, for the teams sake, I hope it doesn’t get brought onto the ice,” Ference said as he began to work on his food as well. 

“Don’t worry, that’s definitely not a problem, I have more to worry about, like scoring, than whether or not Marchy thinks I’m…” Tyler immediately closed his mouth and shoved a fork-full of pasta into his mouth to give him an excuse not to talk, because he was about to say something _really fucking stupid_ yet again. What was wrong with him lately? Ever since that night, he’s been all screwed up. 

Soupy paused in his meal to stare at Tyler. He looked curious, “Thinks you’re what?” He asked. 

“Stupid. Thinks I’m stupid…” Tyler replied a little too quickly. But Soupy simply gave him an ‘I-don’t-believe-you’ look and let it go as he got back to his meal. Luckily, nobody else questioned him. Great, Soupy likely wouldn’t let him get away easily, though. 

The rest of the meal went by with chats about the game tomorrow and tips for the rookies- though they didn’t really need any, to be honest. It was a good, relaxed meal; but Tyler was on edge the entire time. He couldn’t help but be anxious- what would Soupy say? Was he going to pester him more or just let it go? And if he did, what should Tyler say? 

Perhaps it would be better to be honest- though he wasn’t sure that was the best idea. No, it likely wasn’t the best idea. 

Either way, they finished their meal and Ference picked up the bill for the rookies, and laughed when Tyler nudged him. “No way, Tyler, you can afford it,” he chuckled. Soupy also picked up his own bill. They all said their goodbyes and Tyler made quickly towards his car, hoping to escape Greg before he questioned him- if he even remembered. 

“Not so fast,” Soupy said, and crap, he hadn’t forgotten. “Alright, out with the truth,” he said, crossing his arms. He seemed determined to get an answer from him, and that’s what worried Tyler. He likely wouldn’t be able to lie to him convincingly. 

Tyler frowned at him. “I’ll handle it, alright? I promise. We didn’t exactly fix things today, but it’ll be fine,” he said, trying to go that route instead. 

Campbell shook his head, “Segs, I just want to help, alright? I’m not out to get you or judge you or anything; you certainly aren’t worried about Marchy thinking you’re stupid, because that goes without saying,” he said lightly. 

Tyler rolled his eyes, “Thanks,” he muttered, though he knew Soupy was only trying to lighten the mood and get him to tell him the truth. Which, he made sense and he did trust him. But really, this wasn’t exactly something he wanted to share. He’d been bi-curious and now he knew, after Monday night, that he was definitely into Brad. How could he just say that to his teammate? Though maybe just a half-truth could work? 

“I’m pretty sure I’m bi,” he blurt out before he could second guess himself. “And I’m pretty sure Marchy figured it out. So, things are awkward. Guess he’s disgusted over it, if he even figured it out, that is,” Tyler explained, playing with the door to his car. All he wanted to do was run away- his heart rate was picking up. Soupy would definitely judge him. It was inevitable. 

“Huh,” Soupy said simply, not really looking surprised at all. “I have to admit, that is pretty unexpected,” that was an understatement. First Marchy figures out he’s into guys- or at least Tyler- and now Tyler himself admits he’s bi. Now, if only he could figure out where Brownie fit in with all of this… Of course, he wouldn’t interfere with the two idiots, but he couldn’t help but want to know. “I’m pretty sure Marchy wouldn’t be disgusted with you, Segs. Maybe surprised, if he ever found out. It’s not the end of the world, eh? Just tell him _everything_ , I’m sure he’ll understand,” Soupy stressed the word everything, because really, they were both blind. 

Tyler frowned, “You’re… okay with this?” He asked, “With me being into guys?” He was skeptical. 

Campbell snorted, “I really could care less, Segs, it’s your life. Just as long as it doesn’t affect your game- which is why I just want you to figure things out with Brad. I can guarantee he wouldn’t be disgusted by it,” he hinted. 

Tyler bit his lip, running a hand through his hair. “Well, fine. I’ll give it another go after the game tomorrow, maybe,” he said, and he could tell that’s what Soupy wanted to hear, because he nodded and pulled his own keys out of his pocket. 

“Good,” Campbell replied, giving Tyler a smile, “though I am curious, Segs. How did you come about this grand epiphany?” 

Tyler scowled, “That would be for me to know, only,” he said, and Soupy laughed. Well, that was more than enough of an answer for him. It wasn’t a coincidence that he and Brad had sex, and now Tyler thought he was bi. 

“Alright, get some rest, Segs. We need you to score soon, buddy,” he teased, and then headed to his own car, leaving Tyler to pout at his. 

But finally, Tyler climbed into his car, knowing he needed to get his sleep. What a fucking day. 

-

Five to two, they fucking won! It was a great feeling in the locker room, because really… to score five goals on Lundqvist in the playoffs? And one again by Kruger! Oh, not to mention Brad scored almost the exact same goal as he did in OT in game one.

The only negative thing about the whole game was that yet again, Tyler found himself scoreless. And it fucking sucked, because it wasn’t like he didn’t have chances- he did. Just, something went wrong no matter what he did… a wrong bounce here, a rolling puck there. Nothing went his way. 

But, Tyler was trying not to let this get to him because really, it had been a team win and everybody was so happy, and he definitely was very happy too. Because Brad was next to him, a shit-eating grin on his face and acting so fucking _normal_ that it was great. He kept chirping Jags about missing that wide open net, but soon lost interest and turned his chirping on him. And wow, it felt like the good ol’ times (it’d only been a week, but _still_ ). 

“And what’s up with you, Seggy?” Brad laughed, grabbing him in a headlock and giving him a noogie- which, wow. That hadn’t happened in forever. “I’m surprised they haven’t brought someone up from Providence to replace your sorry ass,” he chirped. 

Tyler let out a laugh, unable to help it. He felt giddy, all of a sudden. Brad was treating him like they were back to _normal._ “Nobody could replace my stunning good looks, y’know. Somebody has to be the best looking on the ice and it sure as hell isn’t you!” He chirped right back. 

And Brad gave him a playful shove, “Please, everybody loves me,” he retorted. The playful chirping came to an end, though, when the Coach came into the locker room to give his post-game speech as usual. By the time he finished, Tyler had stripped off all of his gear and was making his way towards the showers. 

The normal routine came and went fairly quickly. He showered, made himself presentable for the ensuing media scrum, and then began to wind down as he packed up some of his things to go home. They’d be leaving for New York tomorrow, so that meant no celebrating tonight. Tyler noticed Marchy was still hanging around, and he decided to hope for the best- that their normalcy was still going. “Marchy, want to come chill for a bit?” He asked, and then decided to add, for good measure, “Marshall would love to see you, I bet.”

Brad looked up as he grabbed the duffel of warm up clothes, snacks, and other such things he always brought. He looked hesitant, and Tyler felt like he’d been too hopeful, but Brad gave a nod, “Yeah, yeah sure. Not too late, though,” he said, shouldering the bag. 

Tyler grinned, “Cool,” he said, stuffing the rest of his things in his bag. He’d have to do laundry before they left tomorrow. Fuck. He shouldered his bag as well, following the shorter player out. “See you there, then,” he said, as they exited the building and went to their cars. 

-

When Tyler got to his place, he went through an emergency clean up. It wasn’t messy, but he did have some clothes thrown around and dishes in the sink. The first thing he did was feed Marshall, and then he collected the scattered clothes and dumped them in the laundry basket- which he would worry about later. But before he could get to the dishes, there was a knock at the door. 

Weird, usually Brad let himself in. So Tyler went over and opened the door, and Brad sauntered in, “Where’s my puppy!?” He called, and Tyler could hear Marshall run from the kitchen to greet Brad, which made him smile. 

“Your puppy?” Tyler snorted, shaking his head. Well, Marshall did love Brad almost as much as him and Brownie, so, it was no surprise. 

“There’s a good boy~” Brad cooed, giving the dog a good belly rub. “Look at him, he _did_ miss me!” he was grinning like an idiot.

“Of course he did,” Tyler grinned, and he moved from the entryway towards the kitchen. “Want a beer?” He asked. 

“Sure,” Brad replied, finally getting up from where he knelt. He toed off his shoes and took the offered beer. “Got anything to eat or should I have stopped for Chinese?” Brad asked. 

Tyler smirked, “I have leftover Chinese, actually. Want some?” He asked, and received a nod. So he fetched the said food from the fridge and put it in the microwave to heat. Tyler watched Brad make himself comfortable on the couch, and he let out a small sigh of relief. Because Tyler knew that if he couldn’t have Brad in that way, he wanted to have him as a best friend. And it was beginning to look like they were back to being buddies. Amazing what a good game could do, eh?

The food finished heating and he grabbed two plates from the cabinet, glad he had some clean ones. Tyler dished out even portions for each of them and grabbed two forks before moving over to the couch as well, handing Brad his plate and sitting down. He turned the TV on, and grinned. “We should totally watch the highlights from our game,” he said. 

Brad rolled his eyes, in the midst of shoveling rice into his mouth. After he swallowed and _didn’t_ choke, he said, “I’m down. I’ll get to see my goal,” he teased. 

Tyler rolled his eyes, “Yeah, rub it in,” he said as he flipped the channel to the NHL Network. He tossed the remote on the table and focused mostly on the food, since they weren’t talking about their game just yet. 

“Oh, I will,” Brad retorted, and he, too, focused on eating. They didn’t have to wait long for their game highlights to come on. It was always amusing to listen to the hosts talk about their games, too.   
And then they finally began to show the goals, and Brad looked giddy as they replayed his. “Man, that really was a slick pass from Bergy,” he commented. 

Tyler was about to reply to him when there was a knock at the door. That was weird. Brad looked to him with a surprised look and Tyler got up to go answer it, giving a shrug to show he had no idea who it was. He unlocked it and then swung the door open, only to be surprised when it was Brownie standing there.

“Tyler!” Ty grinned happily, “Dude, congrats on the win!” He practically tackled Tyler in a hug, and Tyler was a bit too surprised to even speak. Why was Brownie here? Not that he was complaining, it was great to see his friend!

“Brownie, what’re you even doing here?” He asked, surprise evident in his voice. He didn’t dare look over to see Brad’s reaction- would he be weirded out because of what he’d said? 

“No ‘great to see you, Ty!’ Fine, I see how it is,” Ty laughed, “I wanted to surprise you. And I bought tickets for your games in New York, too!” He gave him a thumbs up. 

Tyler couldn’t help but grin, “Well, you succeeded. That’s awesome, I’m glad you’ll be there! Maybe I’ll score a goal with you in the building,” he grinned. 

It was then that he realized Brad was getting up, walking towards the kitchen with a half full plate. Shit. 

“Oh, hey Marchy!” Ty said, only just then realizing the winger was there, too. “Sweet goals, by the way,” he complimented. 

Brad had just finished cleaning off the plate, and he gave a pretty stiff nod, “Thanks, though it was Bergy who did all the work,” he said, and Tyler noticed his voice was off. Shit, he really did think Tyler liked Brownie, didn’t he. Fuck, and he didn’t seem okay with it (even though it wasn’t true!). “I’m going to head out, forgot I have to do a few things before we fly to New York tomorrow, have a good time,” he said, grabbing his keys from the counter and heading out without another word. 

“Er, see you?” Ty replied, scratching the back of his neck. When Brad was gone, Ty looked at Tyler, “Was it something I said?” He asked. 

Tyler had no words. He didn’t even have the balls to stop his friend from leaving like that. Shit, what was wrong with him? “Fuck,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair. Instead of responding to Ty, Tyler just walked back to where he’d been sitting on the couch and plopped down. 

And obviously Brownie knew something was wrong. They knew each other inside out. “Alright, what’s up?” He asked, sitting down where Brad had previously been sitting. “That was definitely not normal. Brad never blows off a chance to rub his goals in my face,” Ty added. 

Tyler didn’t hesitate at all about his decision to tell Brownie everything. It was Ty, and he was pretty damn sure he’d never betray him. “After we won that Game 7, we went out and partied like we won the Stanley Cup again. Z made us go home, and I’ve complained to you plenty of times about not getting laid since before the season, so, you know that. Well, I wound up going back to Brad’s place with him because I was so wasted I couldn’t remember my address, and before we had to leave I’d almost gotten a girl, right. So I was horny and I said something, I don’t remember. But me and Brad made out and next thing I know, I’m waking up the next morning in his bed, naked and with a sore ass,” He explained, blunt and to the point. “And I’ve been kind of curious recently, I don’t know why. Probably has to do with Kaner talking about Toews so much in Switzerland. But, Brownie, I fucking enjoyed it. From what I remember, at least.”

Tyler Brown had been prepared to hear about a fight between the two, but he was surprised to hear his friend talk about something entirely different. It didn’t bother him, not really. He always associated Tyler as the kind of guy that wouldn’t have a problem sleeping with guys, as long as he got some action. “Alright, well. Uh, what, has Brad like, disowned you or something?” 

“No, no, well, I don’t know,” Tyler replied, glad Brownie wasn’t freaking out. “It was awkward for a while, and he kind of avoided me. And then he wound up asking me to go to lunch, to talk. And Ty, I’m such an idiot. I told him it would be best to just forget it, right. But no, I didn’t stop there. I’m such an idiot…”

“Why? What did you say?” Ty asked, trying to prompt him to continue. 

“I don’t know why I said it, really. It just came out. I said that even if I was into guys, I’d go for someone like you. But that we both knew that wasn’t true. But I’m pretty sure he realized I was actually into it and is probably disgusted by me, and I’m pretty sure he just left because he thinks I’m into you! But I’m not, no offense Ty,” 

“None taken, I’m happy with my girl, sorry Segs,” Ty said quickly, holding his hands up with a small smile- trying to lighten Tyler’s mood. 

“I just. God, why did I say that?” Tyler asked, bracing his head in his hands. “Because I’m definitely into him. I think I was just subconsciously trying to see his reaction, if he figured it out…” he trailed off.

Ty nodded, “Well, what was his reaction after you said that?” he asked. 

“Uhm, well… he gave some excuse to leave, and when I asked if we were cool he said of course. But he left, and I know he’d just given an excuse. And then after the game tonight, everything seemed so normal. Everything was great,” Tyler rambled. 

“Until I showed up?” Ty questioned. 

“Yeah, yeah I guess,” Tyler replied, letting out a frustrated sigh. 

“Only you, Tyler, only you could get yourself into a mess like this, buddy,” Brownie said, shaking his head. He really didn’t know what to make of it, though. And he wasn’t really close to Brad- he didn’t really know him as well as Tyler did. But, he was pretty sure that even when someone was drunk, they didn’t just have sex with another guy if they weren’t into that. “So, out of curiosity, what happened when you two woke up after you had sex?”

“You want the juicy details, huh?” Tyler teased, and Brownie was glad to see he wasn’t down enough not to joke. 

“No, not really… I’m just trying to figure things out,” Ty shrugged. 

“Well, uh, he fell off the bed. And that woke me up, and we were both pretty hung over, and I didn’t really freak out until afterwards. Brad was kind of surprised that I didn’t seem shocked. Pretty sure I said something along the lines of, ‘Shit, I must have been desperate and that my ass was sore’ and I’m pretty sure Brad mumbled something, and then apologized, though he seemed a bit unsure about that. I have no idea why,” Tyler said, and he looked like he had to really think about it to remember. “Er, we both decided to swear off that many shots of jack, and then he went to take a shower. So,” Tyler ended his account.

Ty nodded, “Hm, well, I don’t think Brad is that shallow, to hate you just because you may have admitted, in a roundabout way, that you’re into guys… And besides, Tyler, think about it. No guy, no matter how drunk, would have sex with another guy if they weren’t into it. I mean, I know I wouldn’t… no matter how hard you were coming onto me,” he added the last bit to joke. 

Tyler gave a thoughtful frown. “Well, I… huh. I didn’t really think about that. I mean, it’s Brad, though. He’s so into girls,” he said, giving him a look. 

Ty rolled his eyes, “Jeez, that doesn’t mean he’s not also into guys. Look, I don’t know him that well, and he doesn’t seem to like me much. But if he has as much libido as you do, I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t limit himself to just girls,” he said pointedly. 

Tyler blinked, and he looked about ready to object, but he closed his mouth. “Well, shit, maybe you’re right,” he muttered. It did make sense, sort of. And he couldn’t deny that normally guys wouldn’t have sex with other guys if they didn’t have any interest in it. No matter how drunk. 

“And if that’s right, maybe he’s somewhat put off that you said you’d be into me, instead. You said things were going back to normal tonight, and then I showed up. And he left. Which- sorry,” Ty said, offering an apologetic grin.

Tyler shook his head, “wait, so are you saying that Brad might be into me?” He asked, tone completely skeptical. 

Ty shrugged, “You never know. I’m not going to say for sure, but, it’s possible,” he said, “but I think you should definitely focus on scoring a goal, first, and then you can celebrate with him,” he teased. 

Tyler rolled his eyes, giving a shove to Brownie, “Oh, come on, you’re not going to let me live this down, are you?”

“Of course not! You have a crush on The Little Ball of Hate. How hilarious is that?” Ty teased, laughing. 

“Marshall, sic him!” Tyler called, pointing at the other. Marshall merely looked up from where he lay in his dog bed and gave a playful bark.

-

Tyler couldn’t find it in him to talk to Brad about the night Brownie showed up. He at least wasn’t avoiding him- well, it would be hard to when you were on a road trip, anyway, but, still. He at least talked to him normally. So that was a plus. 

And he was starting to regret telling Brownie- even though it felt great to have it completely off his chest. Sure he told Soupy some of it, but not the whole story. But Ty wouldn’t stop teasing him. He was almost tempted to steal his tickets to game 4 and sell them to some fans just to spite him. But he wouldn’t do that, especially since they had the potential to sweep the Rangers on Thursday night. 

Their game yesterday had been pretty grueling- they’d just been pretty unlucky despite having a lot of chances. And of course, his horrible streak of luck continued. No goal, yet. But he felt like he was getting closer to breaking through. But at least Thorty, Pie, and Soupy pulled off a big performance. They deserved it. 

By the time noon rolled around, Tyler decided not to stay cooped up in the hotel room. Just as he sent a text to Brownie, he received one from Bergy, asking if he wanted to grab lunch. He grinned, and wrote a text back asking if he could invite Brownie, too. 

It didn’t take long to figure out the details. They were going to meet at this awesome steakhouse they always went to when in New York. 

When Tyler showed up with Ty, it wasn’t only Bergy. Jags, Marchy, Soupy, and Pie were there as well. Their waiter showed them to a table, and as Tyler sat down with Ty next to him and Bergy on his left, he realized Marchy was across from him with Soupy and Pie beside him. Well, hopefully this wouldn’t be too awkward. He honestly hated how he needed to worry about that now. Because they’d always handled their awkward situations well, but this one? Having drunken sex and then avoiding each other took the cake. 

Once the waiter took their orders, the atmosphere became more relaxed. Jags was talking about plays they could make, and Tyler felt a little sting because… Bergy and Marchy were his line mates, and he missed them. And Jagr was playing well as his replacement. Ty seemed to sense this, so he threw and arm around Tyler’s shoulder. 

He froze a bit, wondering what he was thinking. This wasn’t helping his situation at all! “I think Tyler is going to score next game,” Brownie announced, “I’m calling it now. Anybody want to place bets?” He asked with a laugh. 

“Seriously?” Tyler asked, raising a brow. 

Ty sent him a smirk, “Most definitely,” he replied. 

Soupy laughed, “I’m in. Twenty bucks says he doesn’t,” he said, and sent Tyler an apologetic look. “You’re just really unlucky, bud, sorry!” he chuckled. 

Bergy shook his head, “I’m going to stay out of this one,” he nodded, an amused look on his face, though. 

Jagr nodded, “I’m with Bergy on this one. I’ll stay out of it,” he was grinning though, clearly amused as well.

“Alright, I bet thirty bucks that he’ll score in the first,” Ty grinned, looking around the table. 

Pie grinned, “Ten says he scores in the second,” he took a drink of his water afterwards, looking confident. 

Brad looked right across at Ty and said, “Fifty bucks says he scores in the third,” and he sounded pretty confident. And Tyler couldn’t help but think Brad would lose fifty bucks, and yet also he felt kind of ecstatic- because Brad obviously thought he could do it. 

“Done,” Ty replied, returning the staring contest Brad was putting on. “You’ll be losing fifty bucks, Marchy,” he grinned. 

“No, I don’t think so,” Brad shook his head, then looked at Tyler for the first time in what felt like months- even though they’d talked just last night. 

“Confident, aren’t you?” Ty retorted, and he finally moved his arm from around Tyler’s shoulders. 

Brad shrugged, “Of course I am,” he replied, taking a drink of his water. 

“Well, this should be interesting, then,” Tyler said, “No pressure, or anything,” he added with a laugh. Bergy gave him a pat on the back.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be their fault for betting, anyway,” Bergy said, “Though it’s not like the pot is very high,” he shrugged. 

“Care to make it higher, then?” Ty encouraged, laughing. “I don’t make as much as you guys, so when I win, it’ll be great,” he chuckled. 

The afternoon went on much the same way- playful bantering and chirping. It was a pretty good three hour lunch, to say the least. 

-

After a rather laid back day, Tyler was back in his room, playing video games with Brownie- because the hotel was awesome and they had consoles and games to rent for the night. He was losing pretty badly, though, so he decided to bring up what his thoughts were on, “So, out of curiosity, why the fuck did you put your arm around me and then initiate a bet that Soupy will win?” He asked, looking at Ty with a small pout on his face. 

Brownie threw his hands in the air, “Woo! Suck on that, Tyler!” he exclaimed as he won the round of Call of Duty. But then he noticed that Tyler didn’t seem to care, so he sighed and put the controller down. “Well, didn’t you notice Brad was giving me angry looks every now and then?”

“Uh, no?” Tyler replied, skeptical. 

Ty rolled his eyes, “Goes to show how observant you are outside of hockey,” he teased. “Well, he was. And then when I made that bet, he looked straight at me and topped it, as if to prove something,” he nodded. “And Tyler, you know I’m pretty good at reading people,” he grinned. 

Tyler frowned, shaking his head. “Well, in this case I’m not sure… Marchy has never really liked you to begin with, so it might just be he didn’t like you being so close..?”

“Tell yourself whatever you want, but I think he’s into you and you’re being an idiot,” Ty said, picking the controller up again. “You know, looking back on your friendship with him, I’m really not surprised this is happening. What surprises me, though, is that it didn’t happen when you won the Cup,” he mused. 

Tyler let out a sigh, “Yeah, but if you’re wrong and he’s not? Then he won’t be able to look at me normally again. And fuck off, it didn’t happen then because I had tons of girls throwing themselves at me. And besides, I only got curious about it after Biel. Kaner wouldn’t shut up about Toews and how _amazing_ he was, which- ew, weird,” he shook his head. 

Ty laughed, “Buddy, when was the last time you and Marchy acted normal around each other recently? If can’t get any worse, y’know?” He shook his head, “and also, I bet Kaner would say the same about you and Brad. So,” he set up another match and their conversation devolved into cursing each other out. 

-

The best feeling was scoring a goal to put your team ahead, especially after not having one in so long. But even better than that? When Brad skated over to him with the biggest smile on his face, as if he’d just scored, and jumped into the hug. He put their helmets together and yelled, “Finally!” with the happiest look. 

But, the feeling didn’t last. They lost in overtime. There was no sweep, they didn’t close out the series so they could rest for the conference finals. They let the Rangers back into it, despite himself, Horty, and Krug scoring goals. And he couldn’t blame Tuukka- that would be unfair. Everybody had off nights, and tonight just was not Tuukka’s.

And Tyler had every confidence in the world that their goalie would pull through and play better next game. But, still. The feeling of scoring a goal was dampened by the loss, and the locker room was relatively somber afterward. 

“Game five is home, guys,” Tyler announced, “Let’s play like it’s game seven, alright? Just like Toronto. We’ve been the better team this entire series, we can win on Saturday,” he spoke, confident. 

Everyone seemed to agree, and soon enough the locker room was no longer like a morgue, and everyone was talking, though not as boisterous as it should have been. 

After Tyler showered, changed, and went through the obligatory media scrum, he and the rest of his team were left in peace to pack their things to go home tomorrow. With his back to the rest of the room, he didn’t notice Brad make his way over to him. Until the shorter winger gave him a playful shove. “You scored in the third, shithead,” he grinned. 

Tyler couldn’t help but return the grin, though it took him a few seconds until he realized what Marchy was talking about. “Oh, shit, you were right, then,” he said, surprised. “So, what, you make sixty bucks?” 

“Hell yeah! And I get bragging rights,” he smirked, crossing his arms proudly. “That’s drinking money after we put this one away on Saturday,” Brad nodded. 

“Bragging rights? Bragging rights for what?” Tyler laughed, though he hoped Marchy was right. They needed to put this series away on Saturday. 

Brad looked a little surprised by the question, as if he hadn’t expected it. “Well, Brownie predicted wrong, I didn’t, so. Bragging rights for knowing you better,” he said, though it didn’t make much sense. 

Tyler felt his heart pick up the pace, though. Even though the whole thing was just luck, and not about one person knowing him better than the other. He couldn’t help but feel like Ty was … maybe he really WAS right, that Brad was jealous. And holy shit, that might be possible and he couldn’t believe it. 

“That, that doesn’t really make sense, Marchy,” Tyler heard himself point out, practically too excited with the possibility that Brad actually liked him back to care what he was saying. 

“Sure it does,” Brad retorted, “you always seem to score when we really need it, and so it would make sense that we would need it in the third. And well, I was right,” the winger felt the need to explain himself. He then added, “So therefore, I know you better than Brownie does.”

“You mean, you know me on the ice better than Brownie does,” Tyler grinned, because yeah, that was probably true. They played together, after all. And besides, Ty technically knew more now, because Brad didn’t know about his maybe-not-so-stupid-anymore crush. 

Brad rolled his eyes, “Whatever, never mind,” he said, sounded defeated, and just like that, Tyler realized he probably said something stupid again. As Marchy walked away with his bag, stopping by Soupy and Pie to collect his winnings- since when did he finish packing up so quickly!?- Tyler went through the conversation over again and _shit._

He’d been too busy being excited over the possibility that Brad might actually be into him to realize Brad was proving a point and he’d defended Brownie. And again, it seemed as if he was choosing Brownie over Brad. 

“Damn it,” he muttered, frustrated with himself. Because really, he should have learned his lesson the first time, right?


End file.
